Must see games this week: Niners-Seahawks, Commanders-Ravens, Bucs-Saints, Lions-Cowboys, Bills-Jets

In the blink of an eye the first third of the NFL season is almost over. The Chiefs and the Vikings are the only remaining undefeated teams in the league, and will remain that way through the weekend as both 5-0 squads head into their BYE week. The NFC South is looking like one of the top divisions in the game and this week features a huge divisional match from New Orleans. The NFC West is looking less than convincing, but the Thursday night matchup will give us an idea of who the best team in the division is. A rookie MVP candidate will take on a two time MVP on Sunday afternoon while two of the favorites in the NFC go toe-to-toe in Dallas. Finally we end the week with an AFC East match up with two teams coming out of Week 5 flying through some early season turbulence.

San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks, Thursday @ 8:15 p.m. ET

We start the week with an NFC West showdown from Seattle as the one time 3-0 Seahawks are desperately needing to right the ship after two straight losses. They started the season off with a cup cake schedule that made many people doubt the authenticity of their 3-0 record. Back to back losses to the Lions and the Giants have humbled the Seahawks and now they have a massive divisional game on Thursday night. The Niners have been one of the disappointments of the early season. Sure, Christian McCaffery has been sidelined since Week 1, but this team has enough fire power to be winning games even without the best RB in the NFL. They have lost three of five and are coming off a loss in which they blew a 13 point half-time lead in large part because the injury to their field goal kicker Jake Moody. Both teams will be looking to bounce back, but only one team will come out of Thursday night at the top of the division.

Washington Commanders vs. Baltimore Ravens, Sunday @ 1:00 p.m. ET

This is going to be the game of the week, for my money. The Commanders are riding a four game winning streak since losing their opening game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the last four weeks Jayden Daniels has proven not only is he ready to be an NFL QB, but he’s ready to be an MVP candidate. He has the Commanders scoring the most points in the league, and they are a top five offense in yards per game, all while completing nearly 80% of his passes. The Ravens have overcome their slow start to the season, and rattled off three straight wins, but last week’s win over the Bengals didn’t come easy. The AFC North matchup was an overtime shootout and Lamar Jackson needed one of the most spectacular showings we have seen in his entire career to beat the Bengals. It’s not going to get any easier this week as the Ravens host the league’s hottest team with the league’s hottest player.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints, Sunday @ 1:00 p.m. ET

The NFC South has been one of the tightest divisions so far this season. Each of the games that the Bucs, Saints and Falcons have played against each other up until this point of the season has come down to either a last second winner or gone to overtime. We should expect more of the same on Sunday in New Orleans despite the Saints being without their starting QB Derek Carr who left the Monday night game against the Chiefs with an oblique injury. He is expected to miss multiple weeks, including this weekend’s match up with the Bucs. Tampa Bay is coming off a heart breaking overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons last Thursday night. Baker Mayfield passed for three first half TDs, but the usually sound Tampa defense allowed 500 yards passing to the Falcons who drove down the field and set up a game tying field goal at the end of regulation before winning it with a walk off 45 yard TD in the extra session. The Bucs will be favorites, but the Saints will be doing everything they can to avoid a fourth straight loss.

Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys, Sunday @ 4:25 p.m. ET

The Detroit Lions went into their much needed BYE week after the first month of the season in which everyone was giving them their best shot. That’s what happens when you are preseason favorite to represent your conference in the Super Bowl, and the Lions are feeling the effects of suddenly being on everyone’s radar. They beat the Seahawks in a shootout before their BYE and now come out of their week off ready for a showdown in Dallas against a Cowboys team that looks to have gotten their mojo back. Two straight losses had the city up in arms and ready to throw away the season, but Dallas has responded with back to back primetime wins on the road. They beat the Giants who are suddenly a lot better than everyone thought and handed the Steelers their second straight loss with a final minute touchdown on 4th and Goal. Those are decent wins, but a win over the Lions will let everyone know the Cowboys are ready to compete with the top teams in the NFC.

Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets, Monday @ 8:15 p.m. ET

We wrap the week up with a can’t miss matchup in the AFC East between two teams who have hit a bit of a rocky road over the last couple weeks. It looked like paradise in Orchard Park through the first three weeks of the season as Josh Allen and the Bills rolled through their opponents while scoring the most points of any team over that span. The trouble came when the schedule started to get tough, and the Bills were quickly dropped off cloud nine and handed a dose of reality by the Ravens who stomped them 35-10. The Texans were on the verge of doing the same, but the Bills made it a game in the second half of Sunday’s showdown from NRG Stadium. Some poor clock management handed the game to Houston and the Bills suffered their second straight loss. The Jets are coming off back to back losses as well, the only difference was they are in the midst of a coaching change after just five weeks. Robert Saleh has been let go either because of the Jets 2-3 record after their loss to Minnesota from London last week, or because of his comments about Aaron Rodgers and his cadence a few weeks ago. Whatever the reason may be, it doesn’t change the fact that the Aaron Rodgers threw three picks last week and basically cost the Jets the game in London. Both teams are needing a rebound from the Meadowlands on Monday night.